Cash register



Feb. 13, 1934. E. J. VON PEIN 1,946,602

CASH REGISTER -Original Filed April 4, 1921 Edward J. Von Pein Hi8 attozncq Patented Pets. 13, 1934 UNITE 1L TES PATENT. OFFICE CASH REGISTER Original application April 4, 1921, Serial No.

458,50fi. Divided and this application January 29, 1930. Serial No. 424,356

5 Claims.

This invention relates to cash registers and the like machines, and has more particular reference to overthrow preventers for adding mechanism of such machines.

The invention is shown applied to a machine or" the type illustrated and described in Letters Patent of the United States Nos. 2 18565 and 773,066, granted to Joseph P. Cleal, January 13,. 1903 and October 25, 190% respectively. The subject matter of the present invention forms a di-- vision of Letters Patent of the United States, Number 1,869,873, issued on August 2, 193 to Edward J. Von Pein.

It is sometimes possible, in key-operated machines or" the type disclosed in the above mentioned patent and application, by exerting undue force rapidly to depress the keys of lower order, to overthrow the corresponding tctalizer wheels, that is, to cause them to add thereon more than the value of the particular key or keys depressed.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention .to provide a novel and simple device intermediate the press-down key and a differential member to reduce the speed of movement of the differential member.

Another object is to provide a machine of the key-operated type with the novel device to prevent overthrowing of the totalizer wheels.

With these and incidental objects in view, the invention includes certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in appended .claims and a preferred form or embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specification.

L'l said drawing:

Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional view through a machine of the type disclosed in the above mentioned patent.

Fig. 2 is a sk letonized top plan view of the no-sale key, and the five lower keys of the units .of cents denominational group of keys, showing the customary key coupler broken away for clearance.

General description The machine chosen for illustrative purposes and to which the invention is shown applied, may include, generally, a plurality of manipulative devices, such as k ys, which, when depressed, operate mechanism to accumulate the amounts represented by the value of the particular key or keys depressed, onto a totalizer and to set indicators to indicate the value of the key or keys depressed. A printing mechanism is also provided in the machine disclosed in the parent patent, but this printing mechanism, and the indicator mechanism are omitted from the instant case as they form no part of the present invention.

There is a plurality of denominational groups of keys provided in the machine of the parent patent and the lower order keys of each of said groups are each provided with the overthrow preventer or speed reducing device which forms the subject matter of the present case, but since these groups of keys are exactly alike and the application of the present invention thereto is identical, only the lower order keys of the units of cents denominational groups are illustrated herein.

The overthrow preventer or speed reducing device disclosed herein is novel in its construction and. operation, and differs from similar devices in the prior art in that the ratio of speed between each key and its actuator is substantially constant during the entire movement of the key. In other speed reducing devices disclosed in the art, the driven member operates at the same speed as the key at the beginning of its operation, and is slowed down as it reaches the end of its movement.

totalizer actuator frame is provided for each of the denominational groups as described in the parent case, but only one actuator frame is disclosed herein as it is thought suificient to illustrate the invention. The usual key coupler, which couples the depressed keys together, prevents depression of another key after the operation of the machine has begun and restores the keys to their normal undepressed positions after they have been fully depressed.

Detailed description The key levers 29 having the usual key caps 30 fast on the forward end thereof, are pivoted on a cross rod 31 supported in side frames 32 and 33. These frames are joined by cross bars 3-4 and 35 and by the cross rod 31, and form the main frame work by which the machine is supported. The rear end of a key coupler 36, supported in the frames 32 and 33 respectively by trunnions 37 and 38 projecting from the ends thereof, rest upon the rear arms of the keys 29. The rear end of the key coupler 36 is reduced and forms the coupling bar 39 adapted to fit within slots 40 in the enlarged rear ends of the key levers to couple all of the depressed keys together.

As the desired key 29 is depressed or a key in any or all of the denominational groups is depressed, the rear arms thereof rock the key coupler 36 counterclockwise, as viewed in Fig. 1, and, since the key 29 and the key coupler have different centers, the coupling bar 39 moves into the slot or recess 40, at the same time swinging upwardly in front of arcuate edges 41 on the remainder of the keys to prevent operation of these undepressed keys during the operation and after the depressed key has progressed a certain distance.

Heretofore the movement of the key lever 29 by depression thereof was transmitted to a totalizer actuator 42 journaled on a rod 43 extending between the side frames 32 and 33 of the machine and secured to an actuator frame 44 also journaled on the rod 43, by a thrust bar 45 pivotally connected to the rear end of the key lever itself and having a shoulder 46 differentially located thereon contacting with a rod 47 carried between rearwardly extending arms 48 (only one of which is shown) on the actuator frame 44, to rock this frame and the totalizer actuator 42 counterclockwise a distance equal in extent of movement to the numerical value of the particular key depressed.

Since all of the keys are, upon depression, rocked the same extent, differential movement of the totalizer actuators comprising the frame 44 and segment 42 is made possible by progressively stepping the shoulders 46 on the several thrust bars 45. Thus it is apparent that, when the 1" key is depressed, its thrust bar 45 travels upwardly eight steps of movement before it engages the rod 47, and then continues to travel one step of movement to rock the totalizer actuators one step.

Mechanism, not shown herein, but which is fully disclosed in the above mentioned patents, is operated by depression of any key or group of keys to rotate a drive shaft 49 journaled in the side frames 32 and 33 one complete counterclockwise rotation at each operation of the machine. A cam having its hub secured to the shaft 49, cooperates with rollers 61 and 62 on a forked arm 63 secured to a totalizer frame 64 pivotally supported by arms 65 extending rearwardly from the cross bar 34, to rock the totalizer frame 64 first clockwise at the beginning of the operation to engage totalizer pinions 66 secured to gears 67 rotatively mounted on a shaft 68 journaled in arms 69 (only one of which is shown herein) extending upwardly from the totalizer frame 64, with the totalizer actuators 42, and then, after the totalizer actuators 42 are differentially set according to the particular key or keys depressed, to rock the totalizer frame 64 counterclockwise to disengage the totalizer pinions 66 from their actuators 42. When the operator releases the depressed key or keys the weight of the key coupler 36 restores them to their normal position, lowering the thrust bars 45 and restoring the totalizer actuators clockwise to normal position.

The usual transfer or carry-over mechanism, including a. transfer pawl or finger 70, carried on a transfer arm 71, pivotally supported on the totalizer frame in a suitable manner and cooperating with ratchets 72, one secured to the side of each of the totalizer wheels 67, is provided in the illustrative embodiment of the present invention. Retrograde rotation of the totalizer wheels is prevented by spring-pressed retaining pawls 73 pivoted on a rod 74 carried between the arms 69 in the totalizer frame.

It has been found that, in the machine of the above mentioned patents, when the keys of lower order are depressed quickly and with undue force, the shoulder on the thrust bar of the particular lower order key depressed, traveling upwardly at a considerable speed, gains sufilcient momentum that when the shoulder strikes the cross rod 47 the force of the blow is sufficient to cause the actuator frame 44 and the actuator 42 to whip, resulting in misaddition or overthrowing the totalizer wheels.

To prevent this torsional strain and distortion of the actuator frame 44 and the actuators 42, the thrust bars 45 associated with the lower order keys are moved upwardly a shorter distance and at a slower speed, thereby reducing the force of the shock by the shoulder 46 striking the cross rod 47. In order to compensate for this shorter movement of the thrust bars 45 the shoulders 46 for the lower orders are located correspondingly closer to the rod 47 than usual. Therefore, although the thrust bars move a lesser extent, the shoulders 46 strike the rod 47 sooner, with the result that the segment 42 receives a movement commensurate with the value of the key do-- pressed. But since the key must move its full distance to properly operate the machine, the thrust bars 45 are removed from the rear ends of the lower order keys and are pivotally supported on studs 75 projected from the rear ends 76 of a reduction lever 77 pivoted on a cross rod 78 extending between the right side frame 32 and a bracket 79 secured to and depending from the cross bar 34. This bracket also embraces and forms an additional brace for the cross rod 31 on which the keys 29 are fulcrumed. A headed stud 80 projecting from the forward arm of the key 29 is embraced by an elongated opening 81 in the forward arm 82 of the reduction lever 77.

When a key 29 of the lower order is depressed, rocking it counterclockwise, the stud 80 rocks the reduction lever 77 also counterclockwise, raising the rear arm 76 thereof and the thrust bar 45 to engage the shoulder 46 with the cross rods 47 to operate the totalizer actuator frame 44 and the actuator 42, according to the position of the key depressed.

As clearly disclosed in Fig. 1, the distance between the stud 80 and the pivot 31 for the keys 29, is shorter than the distance between the stud 80 and the pivot 78. The effect of this difference in lengths of leverage results in the reducing lever 77 moving a lesser distance than the key 29, and therefore the reducing lever 77 moves at a slower speed than the key 29. However, the ratio of speed between the two elements is substantially constant during the entire movement of the key 29, this ratio changing slightly due to the shortening of the leverage 80-78 as the key 29 is operated.

A headed stud 83 on the rear arm of the lever 29 guides the reduction lever 77 in its rocking movement and holds the lever in its proper position adjacent the key lever 29. When the key is released after being fully depressed, the weight of the key coupler 36 restores it to its normal undepressed position at the same time restoring the parts to their normal position.

The units of cents key 29, its reduction lever 77 and thrust bar 46 and the key coupler 36 are illustrated in Fig. l by dot and dash lines in their moved position with the key 29 fully depressed. This illustrates clearly the difference in extents of movement of the reduction lever and the key proper.

The term substantially uniform is used in the specification and claims, to point out that the ratio of speed between the key 29 and thrust bar 45 is practically the same throughout the entire operation of the machine. The gist of applicants invention resides in the novel combination of elements in which the thrust bar is moved slower than the key to prevent overthrow of the totalizer element throughout the entire operation. However, the ratio of speed between the key and thrust bar changes slightly during the operation due to the shortening of the leverage --'78 as the key 29 is operated. This shortening of the leverage 8078, and the consequent changing of the speed ratio is so slight that it makes no practical difference in the successful operation of the invention, and is only incidental to the arrangement of the parts.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form or embodiment herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed as new, is:

1. In a machine of the class described; a totalizer actuator; differential thrust bars; and means for operating individual thrust bars comprising non-coincidently fulcrumed levers; one of which is directly connected to the other lever and. its respective thrust bar.

2. In a machine 01 the class described; pivoted item entering levers; a totalizer actuator; differential means comprising graduated thrust bars for operating said actuator; and levers directly connecting said item levers to their respective thrust bars; said connecting levers being pivoted rearwardly of the pivots of the item levers.

3. In a machine of the class described; comprising a totalizer; an actuator; a pivotally mounted item entering key; a graduated thrust member adapted to move the actuator; a pivoted lever; and a pin and slot connection between the key and the lever for conveying motion from a key to its respective thrust member, said lever and key having spaced pivots.

4. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a totalizer; an actuator for operating the totalizer; an item entering device; and means interposed between the item entering device and the totalizer actuator for conveying motion from the item entering device to the totalizer actuator, the means being so situated in respect to the device as to progressively increase the ratio of velocity between the item entering device and the means throughout the entire operation of the device.

5. In a machine of the class described; the combination of a totalizer; an actuator; means to operate the actuator; a manipulative device; and means operated by the manipulative device to accelerate the first named means at a, uniform rate in relation to the speed of operation of the manipulative means.

EDWARD J. VON PEIN. 

